Disclaimer: I own…well, not much.
Anyway, in my last update of Remix, Keiji Himura squared off against the second of Satoshi's head lieutenants, Akuren, who seems to have an intimate knowledge of the ninja arts and the ways of the Heartless. But before that, he was about to reveal a secret of Yoh's strongest ability, the Double Medium.
Chapter 12 will finally reveal the truth of the Double Medium, while Cloud and the gang show up to find Anna. But who else could possibly arrive?
Chapter 12: Secrets of the Double Medium, Part 2
Keiji's Apartment
This is going to be a hard one to explain, that it will.
Looking at the condition of his friends, not to mention his own current exhaustion, Keiji Himura decided to scrap that previous thought as the understatement of the millennium. Having just barely survived the power of the Shin no Ippo, a potentially lethal attack if properly applied, and the skills and ferocity of a nameless Jonin, the once calm and friendly atmosphere of the apartment had taken on a more tense, battle-ready tone. Clearly the attack, and how very unprepared they had all been for it, had caused everyone to tighten their nerves and prepare for anything else that could possibly happen.
Ironically enough, the focal point of the entire plot against their lives, Yoh Asakura, did not seem very much bothered by the whole thing, although he did look ready to fight if he needed to. It was like nothing had even happened to him.
Yoh's strength of will is stronger than it looks. Behind that slacker persona is the heart of a true swordsman.
Yes, Keiji knew in his heart that Yoh had the potential to do great things…greater things, perhaps, than what he could do, and that made what he had to say all the more difficult. But as it happened, the others were not so much focused on what Yoh could do as much as what had just been done to them, and what went along with that.
"Jeez, what the fuck was that? I feel like my head's splitting right down the fricken' middle or something…"
Yusuke, having never been too intimately involved in the matters of either swordsman or ninja, didn't seem to be taking the aftereffects of Shin no Ippo too well, but Hiei seemed fairly unphased by it. Apparently his reputation of being a highly competent swordsman wasn't just talk.
"Hn. If that was all he could muster, then he deserved to die. A mere Shin no Ippo won't be enough to kill me." Turning to his left, Hiei regarded his former partner in crime, who had just now broken free of the spell on his own. "Are you back in the world of the living, Kurama?"
The red-haired fox demon shuddered a bit when he heard Hiei speak, then nodded. "I still feel a bit disoriented, but I'll be fine."
After a moment, Anna and Kikyo both snapped out of the attack, and the latter immediately attended to Morty, who had apparently fainted from the stress. As for Anna, it only took her a split second to see that Yoh was back in full working order and grinning like an idiot.
It seemed everyone was back in full form, or close enough to it anyway. With a smile of satisfaction that everyone was safe, Keiji sat down on the seat he had intended to use. The situation had changed rather drastically, and someone needed to take charge.
"Alright, everyone, do not panic. It is highly unlikely that Satoshi will send anyone else like Akuren after us anytime soon, that he will not. However, we will need to leave this place as soon as possible, since he will attack here eventually if we stay."
A silent nod of acceptance came from everyone save Morty, who had just barely come into cognizance at this point. This fact had been obvious the second Akuren had attacked them. Still, that did leave another problem, as Kurama was quick to indicate.
"That is true, Keiji. But we still have the problem of actually finding a safe place where we can establish our next move. If that Jonin was able to track Yoh and the others here, then he will certainly be able to track us whereever we go, which will leave us with no foreseeable advantage."
Keiji knew that Kurama was right. If they were to strike back at Satoshi and Akuren, as well as anyone else who happened to have a vendetta against them, they would need a place to hide until they were fully prepared to fight them all. But where could such a place exist…
"Why the hell do we even have to hide? Those dumbasses are gonna find us sooner or later, so why not just take them apart as they come?"
"Because, Yusuke, if we do not properly prepare for our enemies, then they will have the upper hand, that they will."
Yusuke, thinking about this, appeared to begrudgingly accept the idea. He was a thug, but he wasn't stupid, it seemed.
"Still, a secluded training ground will not be enough. We will need a place that is protected from prying eyes of humans and demons alike…"
For a moment, no one could speak as they desperately thought of a safe place. An ideal solution would be Spirit World, but the simple truth of it was that Koenma was not fond of boarders in his realm, and it was not safe from passing malicious spirits. So if that was the case, then another area - a sacred area - in this world would be needed. Unfortunately, as time had gone by the most sacred and holy of places were converted into tourist traps, meaning that they would be useless in the purpose they needed to fulfill.
In all honesty, Keiji expected Anna, Kikyo, or Kurama to come up with something, but he was also not tremendously shocked when Yoh himself came up with an idea…and a more perfect idea he could likely have not devised himself.
"How 'bout my grandpa's house? We were planning to go there anyway, and I think he knows enough to block out any demons Satoshi could send."
Looking towards Keiji and Yoh, Kikyo herself seemed to like the idea. She was well-versed in spiritual places, and as it happened, the Asakura Compound had one of the strongest protective auras in the world; any ill-meaning attacks would be pretty much worthless until they were ready to strike back.
Anna, who knew the place as if she herself had lived there her whole life, could say nothing to denounce Yoh's claim; she knew it would be a safe haven for her beloved to train in.
As for the Spirit Detectives, they apparently were aware of the reputation of what everyone was talking about, and since they seriously had no idea what else to do they decided to go with it. Besides, should any problems arise, they could always fight their way out.
"All right, then. That will work out for the best, I think."
But even as he smiled, there was a trace of pain in Keiji's expression, as if some small aspect of what he had just said was digging into his spine, and he knew that the pain was evident. It was the extent of how noticeable the pain was that eluded him.
"Hey, Keiji, are you feeling alright? You've had the same kinda sick look on your face since you came out to talk to us."
In that instant, Keiji almost caved. It was so tempting to avoid the matter altogether, to let his knowledge slip beneath the cracks and never see the light of day until his last breath was lost to the forgiving earth. What harm could not telling it to Yoh possibly do? It seemed that he had been getting along fine without knowing, after all, and telling the truth would only cause him more pain.
But then…
No. I won't follow that path. My father followed that path to damnation, that he did, and I will walk in my great-grandfathers footsteps…the footsteps of honor.
He had to do this. For Yoh's sake, and for his own.
"Yoh, before we were attacked, I told you that Yusuke and the Spirit Detectives were sent here to monitor your usage of the Double Medium technique, and that is indeed accurate. However, I am afraid that monitoring the Double Medium…will not be enough."
"Wait, what does that mean?"
Yoh, for the first time since his battle with Satoshi, appeared to be frightened, but this time, it was moreso from intimidation by the sadness and unwillingness in Keiji's eyes at that moment. For reasons he did not yet understand, he was terrified, and this time he could not battle his fears head on; he would have to let them strike at that moment.
"Yoh…you used the Double Medium to defeat Satoshi, and it is lucky that you did, for otherwise you could not have survived his attack. In fact, had you used the Double Medium from the start you could have killed him, for powerful as his armor may seem it does have a breaking point, which you nearly reached. Unfortunately, I am afraid that such a skill will not be available to you next time."
"What are you saying? You mean his armor can adapt to attacks, or he'll find some way to counter it?"
Yoh simply had no idea what Keiji meant, and neither did Morty, Hiei, or Yusuke. But Anna, Kurama and Kikyo had long since figured it out: the spiritualists from seeing it first hand, and Kurama by simple study of Yoh's power. They knew that as bad as things had gotten, it was about to get a lot worse.
Keiji braced himself mentally. Yoh seemed to have predicted what he was about to say, but it certainly didn't make things easier, and he honestly had no idea what was about to happen.
Still, he had to at least try.
"Yoh, ever since you gained the power of the Tome of the Shaman, your furyoku has increased dramatically, so much so that in order to contain that power you needed to utilize the Double Medium to fight in Giant Spirit Form. Unfortunately, the time of your using that power is over, and although I cannot force you to do anything, I am going to advise you for your own safety."
Keiji, breathing in deeply, let out a sigh and readied himself to take the dive.
"Yoh, from this point onward, if you wish to maintain the safety of yourself and those around you…you cannot use the Double Medium ever again as long as you live."
A silence settled over the room, and with his burden released Keiji leaned back in his seat and prepared for the worst. He was pretty sure how almost everyone would react: the Spirit Detectives, not being vitally connected to the situation and knowing about it beforehand, would keep calm, while Anna and Morty, who had seen the events that transpired as a result of the last Double Medium usage, managed to balance a degree of anger at the loss of power and acceptance of it being for the best. Kikyo, whom Keiji had pegged as very capable of enduring a problem in spite of her own dejection due to it, was silent, but it seemed she accepted Keiji's statement as the truth, if a rather unpleasant one.
As for Yoh…if Keiji had pegged him correctly, he would pass it off, treat it like just another tiny problem that would ultimately not deter him from a seemingly effortless victory, and live with the situation as it was. After all, Yoh's will and spirit was extraordinarily resilient, for he had not only bested Zeke Asakura without going mad, but he had also escaped a near-death situation against a man who may well have been the most feared warmonger in history and was back in order in less than a day. He wouldn't let something like the Double Medium's loss prevent him from doing what had to be done, and in the end he would be the stronger for it.
Keiji hoped, prayed, and begged that this was how Yoh would take the news…but, as happens, his hopes were misplaced, his prayers fell on deaf ears, and his begging was regarded as if he had leprosy.
It happened almost instantly, so fast that Keiji could not block it. Within the course of a split second, Yoh was lifting Keiji up by the collar of his shirt, easily hefting the swordsman's svelte weight with one hand and balling the other into a shaking fist that edged towards his sword with a bit too much fervor for comfort. A vein, throbbing in the purest hatred, had appeared near his left eye, which in turn began to twitch violently. Yoh's face had become brick red, and everyone could hear his teeth gnash against each other.
But it was his eyes that scared the others, especially Anna and Morty. They had seen that look only once before, and though it was not nearly as spiteful and monstrous as it was then, the very essence of it sent shivers down their spines.
It was the look Yoh had in his eyes when the evil in his soul had become manifest.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN I CAN'T USE DOUBLE MEDIUM!"
In an instant, everyone stood ready. Although no one wanted to hurt Yoh, they knew that if it came down to that it would have to be so.
"Yoh, get a grip! He's just trying to help!"
Anna's words fell flat as Yoh continued to hold Keiji several feet above the ground. It was obvious that the only words going through his head were "kill the messenger", and that messenger was Keiji. His eyes flared furiously as he prepared to kill the man that had brought him such news.
"You…you can't do this to me…the Double Medium…it's my power…I won't give it up…"
"Yoh, I know you do not wish to hear it, but I'm afraid it is true, that it is. Just let me down, and I promise to explain everything to you."
Desperately, Keiji locked eyes with Yoh, and struggled to relax him. He poured all of his soul into his eyes, boring into the Shaman King and silently beseeching him to control his blind rage. Every technique of calming chi he had ever learned and mastered was going into this one move.
"Do not worry. No one here is going to hurt you, I promise."
Within seconds of those words, Yoh felt his grip release, and soon enough he had dropped Keiji, leaving nothing left but a very awkward silence which, surprisingly, Keiji did not mind as it gave him room to explain the garbled mess they were all in. As he dusted himself off, he began to talk again, in a slightly raspier voice due to the near-asphyxiation he had avoided.
"Yoh, Anna, Kikyo, Morty, Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama, I apologize. I should have given you the full scope of the situation beforehand; had I done so, we could have proceeded without any trouble…or ruined shirts, for that matter." Shyly grinning at his little joke, Keiji turned towards a leather-bound book next to his chair, which had been a vague focus of his attention for some time. "As I told Yoh beforehand, the Double Medium is, in a sense, forbidden, and for a very good reason."
"Really? And what's that?"
"It's simple, Anna: the usage of the Double Medium…will rip Yoh's soul apart."
It has often been said that moments of grave importance are like magnets for smaller, much less important events, that in their turn cause great amounts of stress due to the gravity of whatever moment is being interrupted. And whether by the inclination of door-to-door salesmen to perform such deeds or by even stranger coincidences, a knock on the door is often associated with these events.
So it should not be too surprising that as Keiji had stated what could possibly have been the most important event in Yoh's life, a sudden opening of the heretofore unlocked door presented more than its fair share of problems.
"Hey, anyone named Anna Kyoyama here?"
Standing in the open doorway was a trio of three very mismatched people: a short, slightly overweight young man dressed in a worn gray sweatshirt and ratty denim jeans, with unkempt brown hair and cheap steel glasses, along with a lengthy sword at his waist; a second young man with spiky blonde hair dressed in a white jacket with a jet black t-shirt and similarly styled jeans and steel-tipped boots, with a look in his icy eyes that showed he was not the man to mess with, a look perpetuated by the silver gauntlets he wore; and the last, an indifferent looking man dressed in a black sweater, overcoat, jeans, and boots, with sharp, tormented sapphire eyes that had a peculiar greenish glow to them and blonde hair that was even spikier than the second guy's. The last was equipped with the biggest weapon of all: a massive, apparently mechanical one-edged sword that looked to be at least five feet long and shared some resemblance to a zanbato.
With eight pairs of eyes locked on to them, the group of three was obviously not pleased with how they were received, and at least two of them knew why. But the third, the brown-haired one, was not as quick on the uptake.
"Alright, let's find Anna and get the fuck outta Dodge. This place is giving me the creeps…"
No one said anything for the moment, and once again the brown-haired guy was left with the mike. He didn't seem to mind, though, which was more than could be said for the man in white, who was clutching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"Damn it, Matt…"
"Don't be an asshole, Rayde. I mean, Cloud was looking for this girl and you said she's here. Way I figure it, it's just cutting out all the formal introductions and crap like that."
But looking at the man named Rayde, then at the man they presumed was Cloud, and then back at Yoh and the others, the man called Matt slowly realized his mistake.
"Unless, of course, we were interrupting something, in which case…oh shit."
Kyoto Streets
Time is meaningless, some say. According to them, time itself is not an entity so much as an accepted setup to define physical setups, in a similar manner to how the worth of money is measured. To these people, time only exists as a way to document a chain of seemingly random events, and as such they generally disregard it.
But for two adolescents, wandering around the city which they had found themselves in, time was very real…and running out.
"So what are we waiting for? We don't even know where these guys are, and the sooner we find them the better we can figure out what to do."
"Relax. It shouldn't be too hard; there're Heartless tracks all over the place, and we know just what they've been doing and who's working with them, so it's just a matter of finding where the tracks lead."
The calmer of the two teenagers had to admit that his younger, more impulsive counterpart had a point. Ever since this new adventure had begun, time had been against them, and if they could find any allies it would be a great asset.
But the younger one also knew that if they could not find help, then they would fight alone…well, perhaps alone was not the best word for it. They had never been alone, and with luck they would never be alone.
He knew that they were ready. They had endured enough to know how to attack such a situation, and with the powers of light and darkness…those that walked the line between and stood against what the two protected could not win.
After all, they'd seen the light, the darkness, the void, and the heart before; how would this be any different?
To Be Continued
My, this is turning out to be one helluva dream team, ain't it?
Anyway, Chapter 13 will reveal the deadly truth of the Double Medium, and why Yoh cannot use it again. But how will the team tolerate Cloud and his gang, what exactly does Cloud want, and what secret is Rayde keeping to himself? And who are these two new players in the game?
Check it out next time. Until then, I've got ideas to chew on. See ya then.
